It’s back to school time for the kids and that means back to routines. Switching from laid back summer fun in to rules, homework, and stricter routines can be a big jump for both parents and children. The good news is, with a little preparation and the right attitude, it doesn’t have to be so hard. Ease your back to school stress by following these simple tips:
- Avoid first day of school madness by establishing daily routines few days in advance. During these remaining week(s) of summer, re-introduce a bedtime. Wake those late sleepers earlier, gradually getting closer to the hour they’ll need to wake up when school begins.
- Create a checklist for your children to follow in the morning: brush teeth, brush hair, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc. This acts as a gentle reminder to keep things flowing smoothly on hectic mornings (without you needing to constantly remind them!).
- If summertime was a free for all for mealtimes, now is the time to get that routine back. This is especially important to the little ones entering kindergarten. Re-introduce set times for breakfast, lunch and dinner and stick to it!
- Remind your child that there a lot of students who are nervous about the first day of school and they are not alone. Teachers know that students are uneasy the first few weeks of school and make an extra effort to make sure everyone feels as comfortable as possible.
- Start talking about the positive aspects of starting school. Mention seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Talk about positive memories from previous years and all the fun events that occur during the school year. If possible, connect with friends. A familiar school friend can make all the difference when heading back to school. Refresh these relationships before school starts by scheduling a play date.
- Take your child school shopping with you let them pick out their own lunch boxes, supplies, etc when possible. Most schools have supply lists to follow but by allowing them to choose a special pencil or notebook it might make going back to school a lot more fun, especially for the younger students.
- Avoid spending the last weeks of summer vacation reviewing last year’s curriculum. For some children, last minute cram sessions can increase anxiety, reminding them of what they’ve forgotten instead of what they remember.
- Once school begins, those papers can add up quickly! To keep things organized, create a a centralized site for all family calendars and schedules. This can be either paper or digital, just choose what works best. Personally, I like using a digital calendar that can be edited or shared with my husband so we both know what is going on any given moment. Create a family event calendar to track after-school activities, school events, PTA meetings etc.
Once the kids are out of the house and Back to School, let us give your home a deep, Non-Toxic, Green Clean. Call Teresa’s Family Cleaning for an estimate today!
These are really great tips. We tend to set a routine about a week prior to the new school year.
These are great tips to keep in mind. My children started school almost a couple weeks ago. They were ready to start!
Great tips.. we went back to school last week and so far still struggling with the bedtime routine.. but it’s getting better by the day …thanks for sharing and hope your kids get back A’ ok …:-)
I think it’s super smart to have a central location for all the paperwork and info that needs to flow back and forth to school. You have a myriad of great tips here.
Great tips. My kids are so excited to get back to school.
Back to school day cannot come fast enough! My oldest son is so, so ready to go to school!! He will go to 1st grade in a new school but he is so lucky to already have a buddy in his class. Phew… Thankfully this school year won’t be so tough ?
Great tips. I cannot even imagine my 1 year old leaving my side. ?
These are excellent tips! All 3 of mine are officially in school this year.
Our biggest problem with back to school schedule is reverting back to sane bedtimes. We have to start several days ahead to get my daughter’s sleeping schedule back on tract.
Great tips… we always let the kids pick their own backpacks and lunch boxes… We also set up a good routine early on… but things still get crazy, LOL
We always start to get ready ahead of time! These tips are great, thanks for the advice!
Making a checklist is always a great idea. My kids always do better with a routine.
Great tips. You’ve got to get your kids back into a sleep routing BEFORE school starts. Otherwise they just give you too much grief.
My sister always gets her son back on a school sleep schedule about a week before school. He’s too whiny, otherwise.
These are great tips. We always get my nephew back onto a school schedule about a week before school. If we don’t we have to go through the whole whining process, which I have no patience for.
Oh I have got to try a checklist. WIll make my mornings a lot easier.
My kids went back to school today. I am going to try to keep up with all the paperwork like you suggested. I am challenged at that.
Great key points. I think talking about positive things really helps soothe them!
We just went back to school this morning. And while it was easy getting to school on time; it’s the after school schedule that we are struggling with right now.
We are in the process of getting a checklist. This year we have more things to remember each morning and it’s been tough for my 6 year old to remember it all on his own.
My son went back to school today. This list is handy because I felt so scattered this morning. Tomorrow will be more organized. ?
As a former teacher I can say these habits are essential in the classroom as well! Kid thrive on routine!
We started back 2 weeks ago and we are getting into the swing of things. It is so hard to get back though. Thanks for these tips because they really do help get everyone ready for the year.
My kids need a book to get ready for school time! I feel like I say the same things over, and over again!!
We always begin our back to school routine a week early to help ease everyone back into things. Thanks for the great tips!
We start back on Wednesday, so we have been working on getting back into our routine for the past few days. It will definitely make it easier when they do go back.